That seems like a bad idea
The heads-up challenges over the past year have produced their fair share of trash talking between opponents, commentary by the poker community, and some mild controversy at times. But not until now has a poker room inserted itself into the drama. Such is the case with the match between Landon Tice and Bill Perkins, where an employee of the site on which they are playing, Americas Cardroom (ACR), inquired about the possibility of betting on the outcome.
On Friday, poker player Matt Berkey, a backer of Tice’s, posted images of a group text conversation with people involved in the match. In it, ACR’s Head of Sponsorship Melanie Moser asked, “Is there any sports book you know of that offers betting on the challenge? We are thinking of putting a wager on.”
Andre Hengchua responded by saying this query raised red flags, something Moser did not seem to understand. After it was explained that employees of the host site betting on the match was a conflict of interest, Moser backed down a bit, saying that she was just asking and wanted to run it by people before “planning any further steps.”
Moser still didn’t really seem to get it, focusing on the fact that ACR isn’t offering any odds on the match. ACR CEO Phil Nagy also chimed in, asking for “a little benefit of the doubt.”
Berkey wasn’t having any of it. He and Hengchua both said in so many words that even the mention of people running the site having a financial interest in the outcome of the Tice/Perkins match, even if nothing goes further than a mention, is a threat to the integrity of the game.
Hengchua assured Moser that he didn’t think she had any ill intent, but added, “I don’t think it’s malicious or you’re saying you’d do anything or are we implying that you are going to do anything. What we are looking for is an environment where nothing can exist, and there isn’t anything in the system that COULD slant in one way or the other.”
Transparency is paramount
Berkey decided to post the discussion publicly in an effort to be completely transparent with the poker community, to let everyone know that the discussion actually occurred. If it was kept a secret and people found out about it later, it could harm the integrity of the game, even if nobody at ACR put any money on the match.
Nagy went on Twitch, upset that Berkey would make a private conversation public, accusing Berkey of betting “too much, is scared and is looking for a way out later on.”
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. Tice and Perkins went on Nagy’s stream to discuss the matter. Perkins said it would obviously be a conflict of interest if someone at ACR put money on the competition, but that the site has been quite helpful in the heads-up challenge. He also thought Berkey did the right thing by publicizing the situation. Nagy agreed that transparency is needed to make sure the poker community is confident in the game.
Tice went on Twitter, agreeing with Perkins, calling the drama “hiccup.” He is currently up $98,000 on Perkins in the $200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em contest, but in a twist, Perkins is getting a 9bb/100 handicap. The match is slated to go 20,000 hands, so Tice will have to win by more than $720,000 to actually be declared the winner of the challenge.
